Carrie Fisher appears at the Strand to sign her latest book THE PRINCESS DIARIST on Tuesday, November 22nd at 7:00 PM!

Press Release:

A long time ago in a galaxy right here, Princess Leia first graced the silver screen. She has since grown into an icon, being turned into decorative figurines and Halloween costumes. Recently, the infamous Carrie Fisher found the journals she had kept during the filming of on the most legendary movies of all time: Star Wars.

Featuring excerpts from her handwritten journals from a pre-star teen and new views from a larger-than-life celebrity invites readers into the joys and absurdities of Hollywood stardom. Join us at the main floor’s Buying Desk for a book signing!

Buy a copy of The Princess Diarist or a $15 gift card to attend this event. Please note that payment is required for all online event orders at the time of checkout. The event will be located in the Strand’s 3rd floor Rare Book Room at our store at 828 Broadway at 12th Street.

Game designer LukasLitzsinger, comic book author MarkWaid, and acclaimed novelist TimothyZahn appear at Fantasy Flight Games on Friday, November 11th at 5:00 PM to celebrate the launch of STAR WARS: DESTINY!

Storytelling Across Media (SAM), a one-day symposium for aspiring writers and artists, as well as professionals, interested in the art of storytelling. This event will be held on Saturday, November 5, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, 780 Mission Street in downtown San Francisco, from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Admission is FREE, but online registration is encouraged. Seating in all symposium events is limited.

SAM is not your traditional comics convention. There is no Exhibit Hall or Autograph Area. SAM is all about storytelling, through a series of talks and workshops about how to tell a story in various media, including comics, gaming, animation, movies, and more. It explores the similarities and differences in telling stories through different media and focuses on the craft of telling a story through creator lectures and workshops.

Special guests for this event are graphic novel creator Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do), comics creator/animation artist Stephan Franck (Silver), and writer Rick Remender (Captain America, Black Science, Low), along with an impressive list of program participants.

Saturday, November 5

11:00–11:45 Bay Area Comics & Illustration History—Last Gasp Publishing will take this panel on a one-of-a-kind journey through the history of Bay Area comics and storytelling. Featuring art and anecdotes that reveal the inside story of what made San Francisco one of the most influential cities in the history of comics. Foothill G

11:15–12:00 Parent and Child Class—Brian Kolm (Atomic Bear Press) helms a workshop that is specifically designed for a younger crowd excited to make comics with a parent or guardian. From coloring to character design, this session is all about collaboration and creativity. Foothill C

12:15–1:00 Cartooning 101—The Cartoon Art Museum offers this workshop for teens with the creative impulse to turn their own stories into comics. Whether you’ve already tried your hand at cartooning or are just getting started, this workshop will help you continue to develop the foundational skills needed to craft engaging stories in the comic book medium. Foothill C

1:00–1:45 Spotlight on Thi Bui—Graphic novelist Thi Bui (The Best We Could Do) shares the trials and tribulations of autobiographical comics, how to incorporate oral history and research, and the painful but important process of rewriting in comics. Foothill G

1:15–2:00 Cartooning 102—Robert Love (Fierce) leads this workshop perfectly suited for anyone looking to push their storytelling craft to the next level. Explore the finer points of storytelling on the comics page with expert advice and practical tips to apply to your own visual art and writing practice. Foothill C

2:00–2:45 Spotlight on Stephan Franck—Multi-award-nominated animator/writer/director/comic book creator Stephan Franck (The Iron Giant, Despicable Me, Silver) answers your questions about his work, as well as the art and commerce of storytelling—visual and otherwise—as it applies to comics, animation, and filmmaking. Foothill G

2:15–3:00 Interactive Design with Telltale Games—Telltale Games specializes in episodic, story-driven, interactive games. From the very beginning, they developed games based on comics such as Sam & Max and Bone. More recent games based on The Walking Dead, Fables, and Batman have been huge hits. This panel will focus on that legacy and the future for Telltale Games. Foothill C

3:00–3:45 Spotlight on Rick Remender—In the past 15 years, Rick Remender (Fear Agent, Dead Space, The Iron Giant) has written numerous acclaimed titles across every genre. Join Rick for a one-on-one interview and Q&A session about the trials and rewards of creating a new story from the ground up. Foothill G

3:15–4:00 Storytelling For Game Development—Moderator Maya Zuckerman leads an in-depth conversation with Zeb West (Star Wars: The Old Republic) and Michael Cinquemani (EPISODE) about storytelling and video game development. From the early days of comics bundled with Atari cartridges to the latest line of popular Batman games, comics and video games have had a strong connection. This discussion will focus on those back and forth influences and development of new cross-media storytelling. Foothill C

4:00–4:45 Storytelling in Editorial Cartooning—Adam Bessie (The Atlantic), Nick Sousanis (The Unflattening), and Mark Fiore (San Francisco Chronicle) discuss the ins and outs of editorial and non-fiction cartooning. In today’s visually dominated media, editorial and non-fiction cartooning have never been more important. This panel of experts discusses the potential pitfalls—and unexpected rewards—of telling stories based on real life events. Foothill G, San Francisco Marriott Marquis

5:00–5:45 Storytelling and Queer Identity—Moderator Maia Kobabe (The Thief’s Tale) and a panel of talented queer storytellers discuss their craft and how they bring life to their characters on the comics page. Storytelling plays a role in shaping both the identity of the storyteller and the characters on the page. This panel explores how queer cartoonists navigate this space. Foothill G

5:15–6:00 Dynamic Comics Readings—Matt Silady (chair, CCA MFA in Comics program) is joined by Bay Area cartoonists Meggie Ramm, Cordelia McGee-Tubb, and Trinidad Escobar, to discuss what it takes to deliver an engaging and entertaining public performance. Enjoy some very special comics readings and tips on how to bring your comics to life on the stage. Foothill C

Cecil Castellucci appears at Gosh! Comics to sign Shade the Changing Girl from DC’s Young Animal line on Saturday the 12th November from 1:00 – 2:00 pm!

About Cecil Castellucci:
Worked on books that include Boy Proof, The Plain Janes, The Year of the Beasts, Tin Star, and Star Wars: Moving Target. She collaborated with artist Sara Varon on Odd Duck, a graphic novel for young readers. She is the YA editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books and a two-time Macdowell Fellow. She lives in Los Angeles.

Join authors Brandon Alinger, Wade Lageose, and David Mandel as they discuss and sign Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie at the Grove on Wednesday, November 9th at 7:00 PM!

This event is open to all but priority seating and access to the signing line will be granted to customers who purchase Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie from Barnes & Noble at The Grove beginning Wednesday, November 9th at 9am.

Ralph McQuarrie is the most iconic artist in the history of Star Wars. He worked hand-in-hand with George Lucas to help establish the saga’s visual aesthetic, its inimitable look and feel. Beyond designing Darth Vader, C-3PO, and R2-D2, McQuarrie produced hundreds of pieces of Star Wars artwork, including conceptual paintings, costume designs, storyboards, and matte paintings, as well as posters, book covers, and album covers—even Lucasfilm’s annual holiday cards—all rescanned and rephotographed for this book.

About the Authors:
Brandon Alinger is the chief operations officer of the Los Angeles branch of Prop Store and the author of Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy.

Wade Lageose is a graphic designer/artist who specializes in the entertainment field.

David Mandel is an Emmy– and Writers Guild Award–winning writer for Saturday Night Live (1992–95), Seinfeld, and CurbYourEnthusiasm. He currently serves as executive producer and showrunner of HBO’s Veep.

Writer PETER MILLIGAN and cover artist JOHN McCREA will be signing THE MUMMY #1 at the Forbidden Planet Birmingham Megastore on Saturday 12th November from 1:00 – 2:00 PM.

For 2000 years the Sect of Anubis have prolonged their life spans through human sacrifice and the enslavement of an Egyptian High Priestess cursed to walk the afterlife for all eternity. On one night every thirty years the Sect must offer up a human vessel to house the spirit of Nebetah so that they can kill her and drink her blood, thus granting them immortality. But this year they have chosen the wrong vessel and she’s not going willingly…

Peter Milligan is an award-winning London-based writer of comic books and graphic novels, published in many languages throughout the world. His work includes ground-breaking titles such as the psychedelic Shade The Changing Man and SKIN, about a skinhead suffering from the effects of Thalidomide, up to Greek Street, an homage to Greek myth seen through the prism of violent modern-day London. His work also includes the more mainstream, from Batman to the successful and critically acclaimed re-imagining of the X-Men myth: X-STATIX, described by Kevin Smith as “the most well-observed scholarly analysis of media-manipulation filtered through a pop-culture lens ever committed to the page”. He has also had two films produced: Pilgrim starring Ray Liotta and An Angel For May, starring Tom Wilkinson.

John McCrea is a respected illustrator and comic book artist who has illustrated iconic characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Hulk, Spider Man, Daredevil, Wolverine, Star Wars, Judge Dredd and the Simpsons. He works as an illustrator in book, record and magazine publishing, and undertakes design and storyboarding work for multimedia and the entertainment industry including being a Lucasfilm accredited artist. He also teaches in schools and colleges, and works with charitable organisations and local authorities producing comics spotlighting issues such as children’s rights, drug abuse, homelessness, safe sex and proper foot care.